Putin’s air strike hits maternity hospital, children trapped

A Russian air strike has severely damaged a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Ukraine’s President says children remain trapped under the rubble.

Video footage from the scene showed a huge bomb crater about six metres deep in the central forecourt of the hospital.

The windows of the hospital were blown out and the ceiling was destroyed.

A wounded mum-to-be, who was led out of the wrecked unit, wrapped in a duvet to keep warm in the freezing temperatures. 

Rescuers are clawing through the rubble looking for other survivors.

A person is seen being wheelbarrowed away from the hospital, while a pregnant women is assisted by two others to leave the area. 

A local official said at least 17 hospital personnel had been wounded, with “so far no kids wounded”. However, there remains grave fears that mothers and babies, who had been sheltering in the hospital’s basement, remained buried in the rubble. 

Zelensky described the attack as an “atrocity”.

“Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity!” he tweeted.

“How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity”. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the attack.

“There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless,” Johnson tweeted.

“The UK is exploring more support for Ukraine to defend against airstrikes and we will hold Putin to account for his terrible crimes.”

British foreign secretary Liz Truss says: “The reality is that setting up a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, and that is not what we’re looking at.

“What we’re looking at is making sure that the Ukrainians are able to defend their open country with the best possible selection of anti-tank weapons and anti-air defence systems.”